First Partition of Poland

The First Partition of Poland occurred in 1772 when the Russian Empire, Austrian Empire, and Prussia annexed parts of Poland-Lithuania to restore the balance of power in Europe. Prussian monarch Frederick the Great, hoping to prevent Austria and Russia from going to war with each other, arranged for the three great powers of Eastern Europe to annex parts of Poland-Lithuania to prevent power-hungry nations from going to war with each other. Poland-Lithuania had already been a vassal of Russia since 1717, and the Bar Confederation launched a failed uprising in the late 1760s and the early 1770s in hopes of ending Russian influence in Poland. The Imperial Russian Army and the army of Poland-Lithuania put down the uprising, and the three powers took over parts of the country.